The applications for The Greg Siple Award were due on December 31 and nearly 100 were submitted by the time the clock struck midnight. Adventure Cycling is giving away four awards this year: two Intro to Road Touring awards and two Outdoor Leadership awards, thanks to the generous donations to The Greg Siple Award fund.

The selection committee is scrupulously reviewing applications and will winnow them down to up to 10 finalists in each category. New this year, finalists will be contacted by February 9 and asked to submit a short video recording in response to one or two interview questions.

The four winners will be announced by March 1. In the meantime, here’s more about The 2018 Greg Siple Award applicants.

The two winners of the Intro to Road Touring award will receive this sweet ride, thanks to REI.

60% of the applications were for the Intro to Bike Travel award. The Intro to Bike Travel award is for those who dream of going on a self-supported bicycle tour, but aren’t quite ready to hit the road. Once outfitted with a new touring bicycle, thanks to REI, and equipped with panniers and other touring gear, courtesy of Big Agnes, Arkel, and ABUS, the two winners will attend an Adventure Cycling Intro to Road Touring course — with their bike shipment covered by BikeFlights.com.

And 40% applied for the Outdoor Leadership award. The Outdoor Leadership award is for those who have bike travel experience and want to get more involved in outdoor leadership. This award is for cyclists interested in developing their tour planning and leadership skills by attending Adventure Cycling’s Leadership Training Course (with their bike shipment covered by BikeFlights.com). In addition to the course, the two recipients will have the opportunity to take an additional Adventure Cycling self-contained tour of their choice and will receive a bike lock from ABUS and $100 Cyclosource gift certificate to refresh their gear.

Over half of the applications came from young adults aged 26–30. 54% of applicants were 26–30 while 46% were 18–25 years old. 27-year-olds represented the largest number of applicants (18).

Applications came from 35 states and Washington D.C., with close to half residing in eight states. California had the most applicants (10). Minnesota followed with nine, and Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington had five each, while Montana and Oregon had four each.

The Greg Siple Award was developed in response to our members’ overwhelming enthusiasm and commitment to Adventure Cycling’s mission to inspire and empower people of all ages to travel by bicycle. Upon completion, award winners will take what they’ve learned in their educational course and apply it to an outreach project to promote bicycle travel in their communities.

Do you dream of a self-supported bicycle tour, but aren’t quite ready to hit the road? Or do you already have bike travel experience and want to get more involved in outdoor leadership? Either way, the two tracts of The Greg Siple Award for Young Adult Bicycle Travel — Intro to Bike Travel and Outdoor Leadership — empower 18- to 30-year-olds to travel sustainably and build outdoor leadership skills.